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United States Patent | 5,781,973 |
Orzel | July 21, 1998 |
A spreader for spreading a fabric having upper and lower sides, transversely spaced edges and longitudinally extending tire reenforcing cords spaced laterally across the fabric between the edges preparatory to rubberizing the fabric in a calender, where the fabric moves in a given path to the calender, the spreader comprising a cantilever mounted mandrel having an outer generally cylindrical surface concentric with a rotational axis, with the cylindrical surface having a helical groove having convolutions with a pitch equal to a desired cord distribution laterally of the fabric; a mandrel support structure adjacent one edge of the fabric and having means for rotatably mounting the mandrel in a position transverse of the fabric with the cylindrical surface aligned with the fabric path to be generally tangential to a side of the fabric as the fabric moves in the given path; a first motor on the support structure for rotating the mandrel about the axis at a given rotational speed; a second motor for moving the support structure in a direction parallel to the rotational axis of the mandrel and at a given linear speed as the first motor is rotating the mandrel until a number of cords of the fabric at the one edge of the fabric are captured in the helical groove and spaced by the pitch of convolutions of the groove at a desired cord distribution; means for stopping the mandrel when the one edge is at a detected transverse location with respect to the mandrel support structure; and, feedback means for thereafter maintaining the one edge at a desired transverse location of the one edge.
Inventors: | Orzel; Edward S. (Parma, OH) |
Assignee: | The North American Manufacturing Company (Cleveland, OH) |
Appl. No.: | 938567 |
Filed: | September 26, 1997 |
Current U.S. Class: | 26/75; 26/97; 26/105 |
Intern'l Class: | D06C 003/06 |
Field of Search: | 26/74,75,88,97,99,103,105,77 226/17,23,190 28/212,282,248,268 |
1376736 | May., 1921 | Thornber | 26/97. |
1563704 | Dec., 1925 | Greis | 26/105. |
2639483 | May., 1953 | Wester | 26/75. |
2806694 | Sep., 1957 | Penman | 26/75. |
3462053 | Aug., 1969 | Behr | 26/97. |
4007865 | Feb., 1977 | Crandall | 26/97. |
4301579 | Nov., 1981 | Van Den Hoven | 26/105. |
4554714 | Nov., 1985 | Cho | 26/75. |
4920622 | May., 1990 | Mair et al. | 26/75. |
5619779 | Apr., 1997 | Geyer | 26/97. |
Bulletin No. 10191--Apr. 1991 By North American Manufacturing Company Four (4) Pages "Calendar Lines `Total Concept`". |